BREAKING BARRIERS: HOW ACCESS TO ADAPTIVE SKIING CHANGES LIVES

The financial burden of adaptive snow sports alone can prevent many people with disabilities from pursuing a happy and healthy lifestyle. BCIT investigates just how restrictive, or how freeing, the world of adaptive skiing can be.

The World Health Organization states that 15% of the world’s population experiences some form of disability. In Canada, 7.2 of the population is affected by some sort of mobility impairment.

Research in this area is still growing, but adaptive snow sports like sitskiing are a popular activity with therapeutic and rehabilitative potential, for mind and body.

A study out of the University of Victoria shows that the risks related to engaging in snow sports are not greater than any day-to-day risks for the general population. In fact, the study helps to prove the theory that getting out on the mountain has only positive effects.

“There is some evidence that skiing can positively influence self-esteem, physical self-worth, standing balance, and gross motor function among individuals with a disability.”

Adaptive skiing is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and the range of available adaptive ski gear is keeping pace. That being said, as popularity grows, so does the cost. The price comparison of gear for able-bodied skiers versus gear for skiers with disabilities is staggering.

(Courtesy: Landon McGauley)

Leaders in adaptive snow sports organizations in BC say that it’s not just cost that can be prohibitive for skiers with disabilities. Adaptive programs rely heavily on a strong volunteer base to provide consistent programming and instruction throughout the province. Program accessibility is directly impacted by lengthy waitlists and difficulty retaining full time volunteers. All of these factors combine to form the experience of someone wanting to get into sitskiing, and in some cases these factors dictate whether or not someone will get to sitski at all.

(Roy Tuscany / High Fives Foundation)

Who does this affect?

The Recreational Rider

Cam Locheed was 17 years old when he broke his back in a motor vehicle accident. Cam grew up ski racing with his family and was determined to continue to ski after losing the use of his lower body. Fortunately now at the age of 32 Locheed is in a comfortable enough place financially that he can afford to sitski but this wasn’t always the case. Here he speaks about the realistic cost of the sport.

(Courtesy: Cam Locheed)

(Courtesy: Ethan Krueger)

Ethan Krueger broke his back mountain biking in 2010. He grew up an avid snowboarder and his passion didn’t dwindle when he became injured. Unfortunately, Krueger says the cost of sit skiing is too high for him to sit ski as much as he would like.

BARRIERS:AFFORDABILITYAVAILABILITYSUPPORT

(Sources: sportcheck.ca / adaptiveski.net / howirollsports.com)

These price differences raise the question of if manufacturers think about not only the consumer’s physical needs when engineering the equipment, but their financial means. The cost for adaptive athletes is already undeniably high, but does the manufacturer factor in affordability throughout the process? Dr. Jaimie Borisoff is a research director at BCIT who oversees the creation, design and production of adaptive equipment. He says the cost factor is always on his mind.

“Almost always we think about the cost when we are designing something. Typically, if its a clear path for a new idea to make it to market, you think about costs along the way; because there is no point making something if no one can afford it.”

The Evolution of the Sitski

Mono-skis, also called sitskis, are individually manufactured and usually customized to the rider.

Sitskis are skis that have a moulded bucket seat suspended above them that the user can sit in. There is a shock absorber below the seat, which makes the ride more comfortable for the user, and the seat is attached to the ski by a sturdy metal frame.

Using upper body movements and outriggers (gadgets similar to crutches or ski poles that have a ski attached to the base) attached to the hands, the skier can control the speed and motion of the skis they are travelling on.

Besides the mono-ski, other models include: Bi-ski, Dual ski, Tandem/Piloted and XC Nordic for those who have different levels of abilities and want unique types of skiing experiences.

(Source: adaptiveskiing.net)

What the Experts say

Fannie Smith – BC Adaptive Snowsports

(Fannie Smith / Instagram)

Fannie Smith is the acting Executive Director of BC Adaptive Snowsports. She has worked with the non-profit for seven years, and in the past has been the high performance manager, leading the pathway development for the sport of para-alpine, and organizing the skill development camps and events for athletes. On a day-to-day basis she does everything from communications and events, to dealing with Canada Games selections and working with stakeholders.

BC Adaptive is an umbrella organization which supports adaptive athletes in BC through a $53 membership, which includes access to the Equipment Grant Program, widespread discounts, insurance, mentorship, and training.

BC Adaptive directs people to different resources that are best suited to members. In order to take adaptive lessons at any mountain in BC, one must hold a current membership to BC Adaptive. Many BC mountains have an adaptive ski program, and those are independent associations or societies that work directly with the mountains themselves to provide lessons. Vancouver Adaptive Snowsports (VASS) for example, has created a relationship and works with Seymour and Grouse mountains on accessibility and providing lessons there.

For people who are just starting out with sit-skiing, Smith says connecting with BC Adaptive is critical in matching the right program with the right person.

We would direct them to their closest local program – if they were in the Vancouver area they would go to VASS, if they were in Kelowna, there’s a club at Big White and one at Silver Star. So we would locate them and put them in contact with that specific local program as they determine what their lessons will be and how they deliver those lessons. Each mountain is very different as far as that goes and each relationship with a mountain is different – some mountains offer bigger discounts than others – it’s not a cookie cutter across the board, but we would be able to direct them to the right person to start in their lessons.

As far as discounts go – one of the major prohibitive factors to getting going in the world of sit-skiing is the cost. Smith says when it comes to financials, the price you’re looking at depends on multiple factors.

It depends on the disability. It also depends on the level of skiing. Very much like if you’re a recreational able – bodied skier or a competitive racer or in any sport, the more specialized your equipment the more expensive it’s going to be. A sit ski will range anywhere from $5000 – $8000 – so if you take someone that is starting off, they might start off with a lower end sit ski.

The better custom fit your sit-ski is, the better the skier you’re going to become; and as you become a racer, you need a more high-performing sit ski. It’ll go into the $8000 – $10,000 range, you’ll need two or three different kinds of skis to be able to race, and outriggers are $300 to $500. The outriggers are the poles with the little skis at the end.

So with a pair of high performing skis you’re probably looking at $700 to $1000 and ski boots and stuff. There definitely is an extremely higher cost for a sit skiier in particular.

For recreational able-bodied skiers, if you don’t want to pay for expensive equipment, you can simply rent at the mountain you’re visiting. But for a skiier with a disability, this becomes more of a challenge. Smith says it’s tough to find equipment that’s the right fit.

Some programs do have sitskis you can learn in, and some programs may allow you to take them out independently, but that is a very limited option. Obviously for many different reasons it’s hard to create a rental program of sitskis, first of all they’re very expensive to buy and to rent out, and because it’s not a one-size-fits-all for everybody. So there isn’t really a rental program for them, plus there’s a very limited amount of people who manufacture them.

A limited amount of manufacturers is an understatement. There are currently no manufacturers of sitskis in Canada. Smith says that here in BC, all the manufacturers used by programs are out of the United States.

Dynaccess is one of them – and they’re actually attending one of our events in January, and they’ll do some demos for people in attendance. The other one is called Enabling Technologies. Those as far as I know are the main two. Unfortunately with something like this, because often there is specialized equipment that is needed by people that have sustained injuries or have acquired injuries, it becomes an insurance thing. So down in the States, it’s a monopoly for sure.

Anne Bethune – Vancouver Adaptive Snowsports

Anne Bethune has been the Executive Director of Vancouver Adaptive Snowsports since 2005, and is passionate about adaptive skiing in Metro Vancouver. In addition to her teaching and behind the scenes leadership with VASS, she is a Canadian Association for Disabled Skiers Level III Examiner and International Paralympic Committee Classifier. Her experiences as an adaptive ski instructor and her professional career as an occupational therapist make her an expert in the field of adaptive snowsports. Check out the interview below.

Vancouver Adaptive operates out of Seymour, Cypress and Grouse – what is the demand like in the lower mainland for sitski programs?

I’m going to guess we have about 40 students currently taking lessons. The spaces are limited by our number of trained instructors who have the ability to do sitski instruction. It’s a higher skill level and physical ability as well, and it’s an issue. They have to be more advanced skiers and physically stronger. Most of our lessons have two instructors to one student. Because we really take advantage of the opportunity to train a lot of new instructors, we’ll often have people hovering around, learning and watching. Potentially even a ratio of four to one. Ideally if someone is in a regular routine, they would have the same two instructors.

I know our overall waitlist last year was up to 60 people. I don’t know the exact number, but it is significant. And they might not get in, but we try. Because people are turned away, we don’t actually know how many people didn’t even make it on the waitlist because they might have gone “oh forget it I can’t get in.” Our programs fill up within 2 hours when registration opens up. There’s a huge need – and we can’t fill it. Its not because of lack of equipment. That’s not our pinch point. We can find funding for equipment. We work at it and lots of people want to fund things like sitskis because they can put their name on it.

What we struggle with is getting the instructors trained. It takes a few years to develop the skill level to be a sitski instructor and then – I don’t know – they’ll travel for example. Go out of town. So we’re trying to work at better retention and recruitment of our volunteer instructors. The other thing we’re working on is not just relying on a volunteer model, and having some paid instructors so that we can increase the professionalism and reliability of our instructors. We also just hired a Technical Director whose mandate is to develop skills and leadership within our instructors so that people have a greater level of training, commitment, longevity, skill, and stick around. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years it’s just what I do. I’ve been teaching skiing for many years, and my background is in occupational therapy. I will always have this as part of my life until I can’t. We want more people like me.

What do the VASS sitski programs look like?

Within VASS we are so maxed. We have two sitski programs: one at Seymour and one at Grouse. The one at Seymour is on the weekends. Basically, our programs run for six weeks, but what Seymour has done is reduced it to three weeks. What they used to do is do two three-week sessions and get two different groups through, rather than one six-week session. Last year they started doing one three-week and they’d get someone up one or two times in the following three weeks so at least everyone got through to give it a go. That’s why we split it up that way, so people can give it a try.

Our Thursday night at Grouse runs for, again, six weeks. The difference really between Thursday night and weekends at Seymour is that Seymour tends, not entirely, but tends to be more kids, and the program at Grouse tends to be more adults. It’s an evening program, and they’re often more independent in life and higher functioning, and potentially able to mono-ski independently. That doesn’t mean we don’t have people like that on the weekend, but generally Seymour is kids and Grouse is adults.

What do you think the main challenges are when starting out as a sitskiier?

Getting through our waitlist for sure. I would say that’s number one. Financially though, In VASS, which is different from Whistler for example, we make it really affordable. The biggest challenge is not the cost. It’s only $150 bucks for six lessons and that includes everything – instruction, lift ticket, equipment et cetera. So cost isn’t a hurdle to learn for VASS, the hurdle is the wait list. Whistler on the other hand, if you’re gonna go to some of the other mountains, they’re quite expensive in how they run their programs – they just have a different pay structure – so cost would be prohibitive. It might be several hundred dollars for a day with their programs for example.

Another challenge is physical tolerance. Being in shape enough is important; it’s quite physically demanding. Although we meet a person where they’re at and the instructor will support as needed, physical strength can be a limitation to how far you will progress in your level of independence. We do have lots of people who have zero strength though. Literally, they’re quadriplegics and we get them out sitskiing with the support of the instructor and the right equipment. So it doesn’t mean that it’s a deal-breaker to do it, it just might be a limitation to progress.

I would say that one of the barriers they learn in our program, is that if they wanted to sitski outside of our program, then there are even more barriers. That’s where cost barriers come in, and depending on their level of independence, whether they need an instructor, or whether they have a family member that can go with them. Best case scenario: they have funding to buy their own sitski, and they’re independent and can learn to set up their ski and get out of their car and transport it. There are lots of independent sitskiiers like that, but theres that learning curve to develop that level of independence. So a barrier would be getting the right support to potentially to move on outside of the program, and have a buddy to go with who knows what they’re doing if they need.

What more do you think mountains can do to improve accessibility?

Every mountain is different, so that’s a tough question to answer. We work at Grouse, Seymour and Cypress, and I liaise a lot with other leaders at other mountains throughout Canada. Every mountain has a different relationship with the adaptive programs. It’s unbelievable how supportive Grouse is, and it makes it very easy for us to run our programs because they are unconditionally supportive with lift passes and rentals and just supporting our events. We have this beautiful synergy that’s been going on for 45 years at this mountain. We love Grouse and they love back. It’s just amazing from the front lines all the way up to management, and I think that’s a really special and unusual relationship. It’s because they get it. They get the passion. Not everybody does and not every leader at every mountain across Canada or in the world gets it, so they don’t value that this is an important thing to do. We’re blessed that for the most part all our local mountains with Grouse and certainly Seymour.

I would just say the mountains unconditionally supporting the program – the programs that run at their mountains to educate their staff. For example, I do a training for the lift operators every year, and I teach them how to load a sitski. I teach about the safety issues that might come up and how to communicate with the instructor and the students, and also how the hydraulic lift works when they’re loading the ski. This is so if they ever see a sitski – which they would – at least they’ve been educated and its increasing their awareness and it’s not so foreign. When people are educated, well then they own it. It’s something that they can share with other people and tell stories from it. There are loads of ways mountains can support both sitskiing and adaptive programs and I would just say it starts from supporting the programs in all the ways I’ve discussed – all the way to providing two-for-one lift passes so that a person who is in a sitski can bring a buddy who can help them at a discounted rate, for example.

What would you want people to know about VASS?

Just that what we do really does matter, and what we do changes lives. It’s something that I call the VASS magic. And the VASS magic is not just what happens on the hill, it’s what changes lives and transfers to maybe increasing someone’s self confidence so that they go for that job interview, for example. Or it gives a family an activity so that they can go out and do things together. In some cases, we’ve created paralympians and racers of all kinds. So it’s so much more than skiing. It’s really a vehicle. Sking is just a vehicle. Sitsking is just a vehicle, and it’s transformational in a person’s life. As an occupational therapist, this is why we use activity for rehabilitation, and skiing is one of them. So that’s the message that I want out there: that this is important and that it does matter.

Scott Will – Enabling Technologies

Enabling Technologies is one of the industry leaders in engineering, design, and manufacturing of adaptive equipment. The company was founded in the 80’s with a goal of providing the best possible adaptive skiing equipment on the market. At the time, options were bleak, and the existing equipment was cumbersome and impractical. The Colorado-based company’s history is fascinating, and today they have evolved to be supplying equipment to hundreds of programs and skiiers across North America and the world. Scott Will, an adaptive athlete himself, took the time to answer some questions about how the manufacturing process looks, and how it might look in the future.

Essentially every ski is custom made, and customers can choose different models and sizes. Do you go to any extra lengths during the manufacturing process to assure the equipment is safe and customized for the person using it? Can you walk me through the process of making sit ski for example?

Our goal is to get people out on the mountain to experience skiing in as safe a manner as possible while having fun regardless of their disability. Safety standards begin way before the manufacturing process. Our engineering team goes to great lengths on the computer to ensure that our equipment is going to perform safety before we even CNC a part. Once a new sitski concept is up to snuff on the program we go through about 4 or 5 prototypes for testing on snow and make tweaks until we have a product that we know people are going to have a blast using. Depending on a skier’s disability we may try and get them in a biski (two skis for extra stability) or a monoski (one ski for riders with more ability). Sizing options that you see online work for many users, but we do customize a fair amount of equipment at our customer’s request. Additional cushioning support, custom seating options, welding and bright pink powder coating are all customizations that we make happen.

Scott Will works with Enabling Technologies and is also an athlete himself. (Scott Will / High Fives Foundation)

Since Canada currently does not have its own manufacturer of adaptive snow equipment – do you as a company have to adhere to any specific Canadian rules or regulations (government or otherwise) when making the gear versus for American customers?

We build our equipment to be hardy and long lasting regardless of who our customer is. We ship equipment all over the world and don’t change our high standards regardless of location.

Do you have any direct relationships with programs and mountains in BC?

We have many friends from the Great White North! We have been supplying adaptive skiing programs, Paralympic athletes and recreational skiers in Canada for many years.

Compared to ski equipment for able-bodied folks, adaptive gear is quite pricey; in terms of the manufacturing process – what about the adaptive gear makes it more expensive to make?

There are a couple of factors that lead to a higher price on disability equipment when compared to say, a pair of able bodied skis. Our Dynamique BiSki comes with a pair of skis, aluminum frame, seating system, stability mechanism, footrest, handle and high performance shock. These parts alone account for quite a bit of change. On top of the raw materials the units are all custom bent, molded, welded, heat treated, powder coated and professionally designed to last and perform at the highest level, plus each ski is made by hand.

Based on your history, your company is an industry leader in adaptive gear. Based on what you’ve seen, what do you think the next innovations will be down the line? What does the future look like?

We appreciate the recognition! Looking forward is so important in this industry because of the goal to enable disabled skiers to experience the sport in the best way possible. Right now 3D printing for parts manufacturing is a bit more expensive than what our margins will allow, but as the technology advances we could see custom parts being 3D printed which would allow for some intricate light weight part designs that can’t be achieved with CNC.

Current sitski suspension systems are only as good as the shock that they employ for dampening and control. We use shocks from the motorcycle and mountain bike industries, both of which are highly innovative and competitive. As shock technology continues to progress in those industries you will likely see a mirror for sitskis as similar state of the art shocks are adopted for use in suspension systems. This will allow for sitskis that can handle terrain in a way that is even more similar to able bodied skiing than current renditions.

Prosthetics are improving greatly and many one legged standing skiers that use our outriggers for stability (called 3 trackers) may no longer need our outriggers. Advancements in sport prosthetics are allowing amputees and others with one leg to ski with two legs at a high performance level and the technology is only getting better. We wouldn’t be too upset to lose those customers as long as they are ripping!

Roy Tuscay – High Fives Foundation

From the bottom to the top

Roy Tuscany found himself at the very bottom of the landing in 2006, he was dazed, confused, and most scarily… numb. He had just flown a hundred feet too far on a ski jump at Mammoth Mountains, California.

As ski patrollers rushed to him, he lay on the cold snow, staring into the sky, uncertain about his future. He was rushed to the hospital where he shortly learned that he had broken his back and damaged his spinal cord.

In the time following Tuscany’s accident, he was incredibly lucky, and thousands of dollars of support came in. Financial support made it possible for him to focus on his recovery and eventually after thousands of dollars made hundreds of hours of physical therapy possible, Tuscany walked out of the hospital.

Roy Tuscany once held the World Record for the most high fives in a 24 hour period.
(Courtesy: Roy Tuscany)

In 2009 Tuscany started High Fives Foundation based on a simple philosophy. He was unable to give back all the donations he had received, but he was able to use his experience to start a foundation and give back to the next person who suffered a spinal cord injury. In that same year, High Fives Foundation sponsored their first athlete, footing bills for physical therapy and helping someone who had previously sustained a spinal cord injury to get back into skiing.

“I started High Fives Foundation simply as way to give back, a way to pass some of the support I had been given on to the next person who needed a hand or a high fives to get the life they deserve.”

Fast forward ten years, and High Fives has now helped over 200 individuals who have suffered a life altering injury, raising and donating millions of dollars. Roy turned the financial and community support of his own recovery into a “pay-it-forward’ adventure with the creation of the High Fives non-profit foundation.

GOING PRO

Alana Nichols

Multi-Paralympic Athlete

Alana Nichols is a two-sport American athlete, competing in alpine skiing and wheelchair basketball. She was an avid snowboarder throughout her youth but an accident one day on the slopes left her paralyzed from the waist down. She has since become a decorated Paralympic athlete. This interview is a little glimpse into how adaptive snow sports has changed her life.

“After my injury I needed the outlet of skiing again. I love to go fast, I love to be adventurous, and alpine skiing in a mono-ski offered that to me. To be honest I wouldn’t be as happy. I wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilled in life if I had never found adaptive skiing.”